Phoneme problems - CSU, Chico

Phoneme problems

Phoneme problems

1. Inuktitut (Eastern) (Native Canadian)

a) iglumut to a house h) pinna that one up there

b) ukiaq late fall i) ani femaleÁ s brother

c) aiviq walrus j) iglu (snow)house

d) aniguvit if you leave k) panna that place up there

e) aglu sealÁ s breathing hole l) aivuq she goes home

f) iglumit from a house m) ini place, spot

g) anigavit because you leave n) ukiuq winter

i) List all the minimal pairs in this data. Based on the minimal
pairs you have found, list all the contrastive pairs of vowels.

ii) Using the phonetic vowel charts done together in class as your
models, make a phonemic vowel chart of Inuktitut.

iii) Now consider the data again; here it is transcribed in more
phonetic detail. In it, there are phonetically similar segments
that are in complementary distribution. Look for them and then
answer the question that follows the data.

a) iglumut to a house h) pinna that one up there

b) ukiaq late fall i) anî femaleÁ s brother

c) aivîq walrus j) iglË (snow)house

d) aniguvit if you leave k) panna that place up there

e) aglË sealÁ s breathing hole l) aivËq she goes home

f) iglumit from a house m) inî place, spot

g) anigavit because you leave n) ukiËq winter

iv) List the phonetically similar segments that are in
complementary distribution. State the distribution (in words).

Graham Thurgood (English121) 69

2. Hindi

[b] versus [b– ]

a) [bara] ‘large’ f) [b–Ed] ‘disagreement’

b) [b–ari] ‘heavy’ g) [bais] ‘twenty-two’

c) [bina] ‘without’ h) [b–´s] ‘buffalo’

d) [b–ir] ‘crowd’ i) [bap] ‘father’

e) [bori] ‘sackcloth’ j) [b–ag] ‘part’

Question:

Are these in contrastive distribution, that is, do these count as
different sounds, i.e., different phonemes in Hindi? If they are,
describe the slot(s) they contrast in.

Are these in complementary distribution, that is, do these count
as the same sound in Hindi? If they do, describe the slot that [ b]
occurs in and the different slot that [b]– occurs in.

Graham Thurgood (English121) 70

3. Mokilese:
vowel chart:
iu
eo
Eç

a

The voiceless and voiced vowels are in complementary distribution. Describe the slot that
voiceless vowels occur in (the vowels with circles under them) and the different slot that
voiced vowels occur in.

a) [pi6san] ‘full of leaves’g) [uduk] ‘flesh’
[kaskas] ‘to throw’
b) [tu6pu6kta] ‘bought’ h) [poki] ‘to strike smthg.’
[pil] ‘water’
c) [pu6ka] ‘basket’ i) [apid] ‘outrigger support’
[ludZuk] ‘to tackle’
d) [ki6sa] ‘we (two)’ j)

e) [su6pwo] ‘firewood’ k)

f) [kamwçki6ti]‘to move’ l)

Graham Thurgood (English121) 71

4. Plain Cree (Algonquian)

a) niska goose l) nisto three

b) kodak another m) ti:gahiganaxe

c) asaba:p thread n) a:dim dog

d) waskow: cloud o) mi:bit tooth

e) paskwa:w prairie p) pime: lard

f) ni:gi my house q) mide heart

g) ko:go:s pig r) o:gik these

h) tahki often s) tihtij finger

i) namwa:t not at all t) wa:bos rabbit

j) ospwa:gan pipe u) na:be:w man

k) midÔihtij hand

i) Do [p] and [b] belong to separate phonemes or are they
allophones of one phoneme? If you think they belong to
separate phonemes, list data to support your case. If you
think that they are allophones, state the conditioning
factors in the words (that is, where each occurs).

ii) Do the same for [t] and [d], [k] and [g], and [t] and [dÔ].
iii) Can you make a general statement about the relationship

among all the consonsantal pairs whose distribution you
have examined?

Graham Thurgood (English121) 72

Graham Thurgood (English121) 73